


i greet all the new ones that are coming in green

by yeswayappianway



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: (but not that original child character), Future Fic, Gen, POV Second Person, Post-Canon, Remix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:55:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24503485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeswayappianway/pseuds/yeswayappianway
Summary: When you were younger, you thought that temples were silent and imposing, but this one has open windows that let in the noises of the outside and bright stone that keeps the fading light of the evening. At first, you looked around, but now you’re crouched in front of the pool of melted-down candles around the base of the statue. The candle you’ve lit is small, but you managed to get it well started and the flame flickers slightly. You think of your sister and your heart clenches.Please, you think,please help her—Someone gasps loudly behind you and there’s a clattering noise. You turn, and silhouetted in the doorway is a tall, slender figure, and you didn’t hear them approach at all.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15
Collections: remixapod 2020





	i greet all the new ones that are coming in green

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [[Podfic] the most terrifying thing in the forest](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18911434) by [ofjustimagine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofjustimagine/pseuds/ofjustimagine). 



> ofjustimagine, i love several of the podfics you submitted (so there's a chance that another remix might turn up sometime in the future) but this one in particular really stood out to me. i love the second person, and i think it works especially well as a podfic and with your reading, the way it really drew me in, so i couldn't pass up the chance to try something similar to that. i hope you enjoy!!
> 
> this is intended as a follow-up of sorts to the podfic that inspired this, but there's no real connection - you should be able to read this on its own just fine! (i mean, with the context of critical role campaign 1 lol)
> 
> title from Last Leaf, by Tom Waits (from the Keyleth 2017 playlist)

When you were younger, you thought that temples were silent and imposing, but this one has open windows that let in the noises of the outside and bright stone that keeps the fading light of the evening. At first, you looked around, but now you’re crouched in front of the pool of melted-down candles around the base of the statue. The candle you’ve lit is small, but you managed to get it well started and the flame flickers slightly. You think of your sister and your heart clenches. _Please_ , you think, _please help her_ —

Someone gasps loudly behind you and there’s a clattering noise. You turn, and silhouetted in the doorway is a tall, slender figure, and you didn’t hear them approach at all.

The figure steps forward and picks up the long staff that must have made the noise when it fell to the ground, and now that she’s moved out of the shadow cast by the door, you can see that she’s just a woman. Her long red hair is streaked with gray, but her face is smooth and currently looking at you in open confusion.

“Hello?” the woman says. “Do you… work here?”

You look around the empty temple. “No,” you say, drawing out the word. When she doesn’t immediately seem to realize, you explain, slowly, “No one works here, it’s a temple.”

“Oh! Oh, right, of course,” she says, flashing you a quick smile. “Silly of me.”

“Are you… alright?” you ask, because she seems distracted, and if she needs help, you can run and get—well, someone.

She finally seems to gather herself, and walks toward you, carrying the staff rather than using it to walk with. “Yes, I’m alright. Thank you for checking. You just… startled me. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be in here.”

You don’t know what to say. She stands next to you and looks down at the amassed candles. You glance back down, and you notice that your candle is flickering. Hurriedly, you cup your hands around it. The flame dies down a little, but it stays steady.

“What are you lighting a candle for?” she asks. 

“My sister,” you say. “She’s sick. A cleric came through a few days ago and he helped her but he said she still has to rest and get better, and she’s resting but she doesn’t feel any better and what if she’s still sick?” You hadn’t meant to say that much, but it feels good to tell someone.

The woman frowns. “What kind of sick? Is she coughing? Can she eat?”

You stare at her. “Are you a healer?”

“I… Sometimes,” she says, and there’s a faraway expression on her face, like she’s seeing something else, even though she’s looking at you. “If you take me back to where your sister is, I can try and help. But you were doing something here, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have interrupted.” She looks apologetic now, and she’s meeting your eyes again.

“No,” you protest. “No, we should help my sister! If you can do something, if you can make her better, we should go right now!”

The corners of her mouth turn down. “I don’t know if I can help her,” she cautions. “I might get there and be able to do nothing. It’s not always within my power.” You had thought that her hair was the only thing about her that looks old, but just now, the way she looks at you as she says that reminds you of your Gran. “It never hurts to ask for help,” she says, nodding at the candles.

You want to rush her home, but it makes sense. Besides, you’ve already lit the candle, and once you’ve done that, you’re supposed to wait and think about what you’re asking for as the candle burns down. You turn back to the candle and think, _please, help my sister get better. Let this stranger help us_.

A breeze blows your hair into your face, and you reach out for the candle, ready to protect the flame from the wind again. Somehow, though, the flame doesn’t even flicker. You stare into it, thinking of your sister helping you learn to write, of her joy every summer when the daffodils bloom, of the way she always lingers at the market to talk to the woman who runs the pastry stall. You remember her pulling you along behind her in a tiny wagon when you were even smaller, and you wish fiercely for her to get better so you can have more things to remember.

Before you know it, the candle has burned down, the wax seeping out and melting into another lump on the ground, just like all those around it. You stand up.

The woman smiles at you, and you can’t quite read it, but at least it’s not a look like so many other adults have given you lately, mixed indulgence and pity. “I think Sarenrae will smile on you.”

“Sarenrae?” you ask, curious. “Who’s that?”

She frowns, and then her face clears again. “Oh, right. The Everlight used to be called Sarenrae, a long time ago.” She looks around. “When this temple was built, actually.”

“How do you _know_ that?”

The woman stands up and starts walking toward the door, and you’re afraid she won’t answer you at first. “I had a friend who followed the Everlight. I heard a lot about this temple from her.” She looks down at you. You had to scramble to catch up with her, your halfling legs taking two steps to every one of hers. “I actually… you look a little like her. I thought you were her, for a second, right when I came in. That’s why I dropped my staff.”

You squint up at her. “Where is she now?”

“She’s dead,” the woman says. It’s matter of fact, but you still cringe back from her.

“I’m sorry,” you say.

She shakes her head. “It’s okay,” she says gently. “It was a long time ago. I think she would be happy that I’m doing this, anyway.” As you follow the path leading away from the temple, she takes one last look back at it. You look back too. The last bit of sunset light paints the pale stone pink, and it almost glows as you stare.

The woman sighs and turns back to the path. “Let’s go. If you want, you can tell me about your sister as we go.”

You nod eagerly, and start walking faster. “My sister’s the _best_ ,” you begin, and the woman smiles and follows you back toward the village.


End file.
